Companies House to increase free access to data

August 1, 2014

In an effort to increase corporate transparency Companies House is to make all of its digital data available free of charge. This will make the UK the first country to establish a truly open register of business information.

As a result, it will be easier for businesses and members of the public to research and scrutinise the activities and ownership of companies and connected individuals. Last year (2013/14), customers searching the Companies House website spent £8.7 million accessing company information on the register.

The change will come into effect from the second quarter of 2015 (April – June).

Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

“The Government firmly believes that the best way to maximise the value to the UK economy of the information which Companies House holds, is for it to be available as open data. By making its data freely available and free of charge, Companies House is making the UK a more transparent, efficient and effective place to do business.”

It will be interesting to see how enterprising individuals and companies use the data for business development purposes.

A bit of history this week but with a practical outcome for 2019.
Up to 1582, Europe used the Julian calendar introduced by the Romans in 45BC. Unfortunately, the Julian calendar differed from the solar calendar ...

HMRC normally send out a tax statement this time of the year to all self-assessment taxpayers that have submitted a tax return for 2017-18.
As we reported last week, this will list any balance of tax ...